Ski patrollers at Keystone Resort have reached a tentative agreement with Vail Resorts for its first contract since unionizing in spring 2024.

The agreement comes after months of disagreements, debate and claims between management at Vail Resorts and the ski patrol union. The negotiation process led the Keystone Ski Patrol union to take part in a walk-in protest and also file a charge with the National Labor Relations Board regarding a claim of bargaining in bad faith after its representatives called an email shared by resort leadership misleading.

Keystone Resort vice president and general manager Shannon Buhler responded to the claim and the disagreements with union representatives by saying the resort was focused on finding compromise and supporting workers despite the concerns shared about how long the process took.

“We have an enormous amount of respect for all our Keystone Resort employees, including our ski patrollers, who are an important part of our resort team and the Keystone experience,” Buhler wrote in her email amid the disagreement. “We remain committed to a respectful and productive negotiation process aligned to our values and to reaching agreement.”

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and a joint statement from the union and the resort said no further details will be released until after the contract receives a vote on Feb. 22, which is expected to conclude at 7 p.m.

The tentative contract, if ratified by union members during the upcoming vote, would run through May 31, 2027.